task concierge and marketplace by raj singh at guru program spring 2014

TechMeetups Raj Singh May 2014

Private  &  Confidential  ©  Sooqini  ltd.  2011-­‐14  

The world of work has changed (again)

•  The economy since 2008 has cut us to the bone •  Very few can afford an assistant or many staff •  The rise of the entrepreneur/startup has become

unstoppable •  The rise of the freelancer is also unstoppable

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Commi'ed  Capital  

raj@sooqini.com  +44-­‐7887-­‐578078  

London’s Task Concierge & Market

•  Sooqini is a task concierge and marketplace where startups ask for and get services

•  We are an enabler of the #newnewwork •  We have built the technology and proved the

concept in London •  Next stop, the world

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Commi'ed  Capital  

raj@sooqini.com  +44-­‐7887-­‐578078  

Concierge: Silver Service

•  Sooqini’s Silver Service (S3) is a subscription virtual assistant product – Perfect for power users – Great for those with significant time pressures

(like small business owners, busy professionals) –  Easily automated for scalability – Differentiator v. competition Plus, it’s a great complementary product for many other service providers to augment their own offers

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raj@sooqini.com  +44-­‐7887-­‐578078   Private  &  Confidential  ©  Sooqini  Limited  2011-­‐14  

Solving for time (= money)

•  Outsource / delegate everything non-core •  Maintain flexibility •  Stay legal –  Mandates v. employment –  Minimum wage –  Confidentiality –  Liability

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raj@sooqini.com  +44-­‐7887-­‐578078   Private  &  Confidential  ©  Sooqini  Limited  2011-­‐14  

Delegating, flexibly

Market Research

•  Crowdsourced wisdom

•  Market research •  Mystery Shopping •  Surveys •  Polls

Administrative

•  Low-skilled tasks (e.g. data entry)

•  Phone & filing •  Research •  Photography (e.g.

events

Temp/Casual

•  Interns •  Stage-specific

staff •  Operational (CFO

etc.), Legal •  Seasonal •  Specialised

Channel

•  Customers! •  Advocates •  Social media

curation •  Blogging

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Tech

•  Website, app development / maintenance

How did I get here?

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•  A company man •  A succession of smaller companies •  Venture capital •  Doing the startup thing

Private  &  Confidential  ©  Sooqini  ltd.  2013   7  

What have I learned?

•  Your mileage may vary •  Every one works hard, that’s just a given •  Experience helps a lot •  Don’t let the perfect get in the way of the good •  It’s an emotional

rollercoaster

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What could you be thinking about?

•  Do I really want to do this? •  Not everyone has to be or is an entrepreneur •  No one is born an entrepreneur •  Is my idea the right size for me?

Private  &  Confidential  ©  Sooqini  ltd.  2013   9  

Helpful stuff

•  There are a lot of resources to tap into •  Take advice, from everyone •  Be brutally honest with yourself •  Always apply the sunshine rule •  Get data, analyze and act on it •  Keep your ego

out of it

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Summary

•  Socio-economic changes are driving the growth in the business model

•  Unique position as “Task concierge” •  No-one else has captured the ease of use

and low capital requirements •  Europe is prime territory •  An experienced and well-regarded team

has the ability to execute to plan

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raj@sooqini.com  +44-­‐7887-­‐578078   Private  &  Confidential  ©  Sooqini  Limited  2011-­‐14  

Thank you

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